Adapter for gang connecting a plurality of female electrical terminals

ABSTRACT

A gang connection adapter wherein a plate part is provided to extend between female terminals to be connected, and connector tabs extending from the plate part for insertion into respective female terminals, wherein at least one such connector tab is less than full width for only partially occupying a female terminal, thereby permitting an identical adapter to have its connector tab inserted into the remainder of the partially occupied female terminal.

United States Patent lnventor John Richard Fibon Mediord, NJ.

App]. No. 44,324

Filed June 8, 1970 Patented Aug. 24, 1971 Assignee Tech Connector Corporation Westvillc Grove, NJ.

' ADAPTER FOR GANG CONNECTING A PLURALITY OF FEMALE ELECTRICAL TERMINALS 7 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 339/19, 339/22 B, 339/198 G, 339/242, 339/256 SP Int. Cl. H011 31/08 Field of Search 339/19, 22

B, 242, 256 SP, 258 S, 198, 204, 205

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,820,211 1/1958 Batcheller 339/258 S FOREIGN PATENTS 1,574,163 7/1969 France 339/198 N- Primary Examiner-Stephen J. Novosad Assistant ExaminerR0bert A. Hafer Attorney-Robert K. Youtie ABSTRACT: A gang connection adapter wherein a plate part is provided to extend between female terminals to be connected, and connector tabs extending from the plate part for insertion into respective female terminals, wherein at least one such connector tab is less than full width for only partially occupying a female terminal, thereby permitting an identical adapter to have its connector tab inserted into the remainder of the partially occupied female terminal.

ADAPTER FOR GANG CONNECTING A PLURALITY OF FEMALE ELECTRICAL TERMINALS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION As is well known to those versed in the art, there are often situations wherein a pluraiity of female electrical terminals are advantageously electrically connected together or shorted, and wherein such connection or shorting may be disconnected and reconnected, as desired. Such circuitry may be called gang connection, and heretofore there has been provided no entirely satisfactory means for effecting such a disconnectable gang connection.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an important object of the present invention to provide an adapter or gang connector for detachably connecting together a plurality of female terminals, which is extremely simple in construction, durable and reliable in operation, adapted for use with any selected number of terminals, as required, without waste, and which can be economically mass produced for sale at a reasonable price.

Other objects of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following specification and referring to the accompanying drawings, which form a material part of this disclosure.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangements of parts, which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter described, and of which the scope will be indicated by the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view, illustrating a plurality of gang connection adapters of the present invention in operative association with each other and with female terminals.

FIG. 2 is a sectional elevational view taken generally along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional elevational view taken generallyalong the line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a sectional elevational view taken generally along the line 4-4 ofFIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a partial bottom plan view as seen in the direction of arrows 55.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a blank from which an adapter of the present invention is made.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now more particularly to the drawings, and specifically to FIG. 1 thereof, a plurality of female electrical terminals are there illustrated and designated 10, which may be electrically connected together or shorted by a plurality of gang connection adapters 1 l and 12. As will appear more fully hereinafter the adapters 11 may all be substantially identical, and the adapter 12 is a slightly modified construction.

The female terminals may be conventional, including a wire receiving barrel 13, from one end of which extends a tab receiver 14. In particular, the tab receiver 14 may include a generally flat back sheet 15 of overall rectangular configuration extending endwise from one end of the barrel 13. Integral with opposite side edges of the back sheet 15, there are pro vided inwardly bent gripping wings 16, each in facing relation with the adjacent portion of back sheet 15. Thus, a tongue, tab or generally flat slide member is endwise engageable into the receiver 14, between the back sheet 15 and gripping wings 16, in the conventional manner. A dimple or depressed detent 17 is formed centrally in the back sheet 15, being recessed on the exterior thereof and protruding toward the gripping wings 16, best seen in FIG. 3.

The structure of female terminals 10, as described hereinbefore, is generally conventional, and other conventional female terminals may also be employed herein.

The gang connection adapters 11, see FIG. 1, each includes a generally rectangular, essentially flat plate part 20, and a pair of tab connectors or finger strips 21 extending from opposite side edges of each plate part 20. The tab connectors 21 of each adapter 11 are offset from each other, so that each pair of tab connectors may be considered as extending in the same general direction from opposite side edges of the same plate part, being located in generally parallel planes and offset out of facing relation with each other.

More specifically, each plate part 20 includes a pair of generally parallel opposite side edges 22, which edges may be notched, as at 19, for location in tooling, if desired. The remaining pair of opposite edges are designated 23, and each provided with an integral connector tab 21 extending from the respective edge. In the blank illustrated in FIG. 6, it will be seen that the connector tabs 21 are offset from each other, each having an outer side edge 24 intersecting with the plate edge 23 and located adjacent to one of the plate edges 22. The other, inner side edge 25 of each connector tab 21 is located generally along the center line of plate part 20, the inner side edges 25 of the pair of connector tabs 21 being in alignment with each other. Further, each plate part edge 23, adjacent to the inner side edge 25 of each respective tab 21 is cut away into the plate part, to an edge 26 spaced inward of the adjacent edge 23, for a purpose appearing presently.

The end edge 27 of each connector tab 21 may have its outer marginal portion cut away, as by a bevel cut 28, while the end margin 29 may be beveled or chamfered to taper endwise, as seen in FIG. 3. Additionally, along each connector tab inner edge 25, the connector tab is formed on opposite faces thereof with back-to-back recesses or dimples, as at 30.

In the finished form of each gang connection adapter 11, the connector tabs 21 are bent upwardly or in the same direction, into substantial parallelism with each other and generally normal to the connecting plate part 21, along respective bends 31, each being in end-to-end alignment with the adjacent edge 23. Thus, as best seen in FIG. 1, each connector tab bend 31 is offset slightly outward from the adjacent plate part cutout or edge 26. In addition, the finished form of gang connection adapter 11 may have its connector tabs 21 each provided with a transversely extending, intermediate bend 32, to locate the inner and outer end portions of each connector tab in slightly angulate relation. For convenience, the intermediate bends 32 may each extend laterally across the respective connector tab, terminating at one end at its depressed dimples 30.

' As best seen in FIGS. l-3, the connector tabs 21 are each of essentially one-half the width of the interior of a female terminal 10. If, for simplicity of terminology, the female terminals 10 be considered as full width terminals, the connector tabs 21 may each be considered as half-width tabs. Upon insertion of one connector tab 21 into a female terminal 10, along one edge of the latter, the female terminal will be only partially occupied, leaving a remainder of approximately onehalf its interior space unoccupied, and adapted for the insertion therein of an additional one-half width connector tab 2 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, three gang connection adapters 11 are arranged with their plate parts 20 in generally coplanar, endto-end aligned relation with each other. In this condition, a pair of connector tabs 21 of adjacent adapters 1 l are disposed in edge-to-edge generally coplanar relation, with their semicircular recesses or dimples 30 in complementary contiguity. Further, the connecting bend 31 of each connector 21 extends into proximity to the cutout edge 26 of the other plate part 20, so that the bends 31 are essentially in alignment with each other. This interfitting relation is illustrated in FIG. 5. With a pair of associated connector tabs 21 of adjacent adapters 11 in their generally coplanar relation, the associated connector tabs are insertable together into a single female terminal 10 and frictionally retained therein, both by the wing grips 16 of the female terminal, and the angulate formation bends 32 of the connector tabs. The chamfered edges 28 facilitate such insertion, as do the beveled surfaces 29. In addition, the complementary dimples 30 cooperate on the side adjacent to female terminal back sheet to receive the detent 17 and effect a positive, disconnectable retention of the connector tabs in the female terminal.

Of course, as many gang connection adapters 11 as desired may be arranged in the above described end-to-end relation of F IG. 1, for the gang connection of as many female terminals as required.

The gang connection adapter 12 is essentially similar to the gang connection adapters 11, including a plate part 20a of generally rectangular outline configuration and having a half width connector tab 211: formed integral with and projecting from one plate part edge, generally normal thereto. The connector tab 21a is offset on one side of the centerline of plate part 20a, in the manner of connector tabs 21 with respect to plate parts 20.

Extending integrally from the plate part side edge opposite to half-width connector tab 21a is a full width connector tab 32. The full width connector tab is approximately double the width of a half-width connector tab 21a, for insertion into a female terminal 10 so as to fully occupy the interior thereof. Advantageously, the full width connector tab 32 may have its end corners chamfered or beveled, as at 33, while the end surface may be beveled or tapered, as at 34. This facilitates insertion into a female terminal, while a centrally located dimpled or recessed formation 35 is provided on each side of the full width tab 32 for reception of a detent 17. Obviously, the gang connection adapter 12 may be employed at the end of a series of gang connection adapters l 1, so that the full width connector tab 32 may engage into the last of a row of female connector terminals 10.

From the foregoing, it is seen that the present invention provides an adapter for gang connecting a plurality of female terminals which is extremely simple in construction, highly versatile and entirely reliable in use, and which otherwise fully accomplishes its intended objects.

Although the present invention has been described in some detail by way of illustration and example for purposes of clarity of understanding, it is understood that certain changes and modifications may be made within the spirit of the invention.

What I claim is: g

1. An adapter for gang connecting a plurality of female electrical terminals each adapted to receive and be fully occupied by a full width connector tab, said adapter comprising a plate part for extension between a pair of female terminals, and a pair of connector tabs extending from opposite sides of said plate part for insertion into respective female terminals, at least one of said connector tabs being of generally one half full width for partially occupying one of said female tenninals, whereby an identical adapter having a one-half full width connector tab is insertable into the remainder of said one female terminal and provides a further connector tab for insertion into a further female terminal.

2. An adapter according to claim 1, said connector tabs extending in general parallelism with each other transversely of said plate part, for extension of said plate part laterally between female terminals.

3. An adapter according to claim 1, said connector tabs each being of approximately one-half full width, for association of an additional adapter with each of said connector tabs.

4. An adapter according to claim 3, said connector tabs being offset with respect to each other for alignment of gang connected plural female terminals.

5. An adapter according to claim 1, said plate part being of generally rectangular overall configuration, and said connector tabs extending in the same direction from opposite side edges of said plate part.

6. An adapter according to claim 5, said connector tabs being integral extensions of said plate part and bent approximately normal thereto.

7. An adapter according to claim 6, said plate part being cut away adjacent to each connector tab to receive the connector tab of an associated adapter. 

1. An adapter for gang connecting a plurality of female electrical terminals each adapted to receive and be fully occupied by a full width connector tab, said adapter comprising a plate part for extension between a pair of female terminals, and a pair of connector tabs extending from opposite sides of said plate part for insertion into respective female terminals, at least one of said connector tabs being of generally one-half full width for partially occupying one of said female terminals, whereby an identical adapter having a one-half full width connector tab is insertable into the remainder of said one female terminal and provides a further connector tab for insertion into a further female terminal.
 2. An adapter according to claim 1, said connector tabs extendinG in general parallelism with each other transversely of said plate part, for extension of said plate part laterally between female terminals.
 3. An adapter according to claim 1, said connector tabs each being of approximately one-half full width, for association of an additional adapter with each of said connector tabs.
 4. An adapter according to claim 3, said connector tabs being offset with respect to each other for alignment of gang connected plural female terminals.
 5. An adapter according to claim 1, said plate part being of generally rectangular overall configuration, and said connector tabs extending in the same direction from opposite side edges of said plate part.
 6. An adapter according to claim 5, said connector tabs being integral extensions of said plate part and bent approximately normal thereto.
 7. An adapter according to claim 6, said plate part being cut away adjacent to each connector tab to receive the connector tab of an associated adapter. 